"What do you think of the Kingdom of Ghosts?"

Shikaku always maintained a relatively calm expression on his face, as if he was not too surprised by the question raised by Tsunade.

Or in his opinion, as the Hokage of a village, there is no reason not to study everything in this country.

Politics, commerce, military, agriculture, medical care, industrial technology, social welfare... and many more things can be said to be key points for other countries to study.

"Speaking of which, if I remember correctly, before the Hokage returned to Konoha, he had proposed to the Third Generation in a letter that he could follow the example of the Demon Country in carrying out institutional and policy reforms, in order to change Konoha's

International decline.”

Shikaku recalled this incident.

About four or five years ago, Tsunade wrote a long letter, which contained a large amount of information in an investigation report.

The contents of that investigation report are still fresh in Lu Jiu's memory, and cold sweat breaks out from his back.

That investigation report compared the various countries in the ninja world, including the Fire Country where Konoha was located, with the Demon Country, which was considered a rising star at the time, from a comprehensive perspective.

It is deduced that the rise of the Kingdom of Ghosts is not entirely dependent on factors such as chance, but is more of an inevitable result.

As time goes by, the Kingdom of Demons will sooner or later become a behemoth that dominates all the countries in the ninja world.

Sooner or later, this country will usher in a new era, completely destroying the balance system maintained by the five major powers in the past.

It is a pity that in the conclusion drawn by Tsunade, if Konoha does not carry out similar reforms, there is a high possibility of decline in that new era.

But now, Tsunade's prediction is gradually coming true, and there is no falsehood at all.

"What are you talking about? I did write such an investigation report in the past, but it seems that Sarutobi-sensei didn't take it seriously."

Tsunade's tone suddenly sounded a little disappointed.

Yes, she didn't just start wanting to change Konoha now, but four or five years ago, she has been using the Kingdom of Ghosts as a template, through a lot of practical investigations, and writing a plan with Konoha as the core interest.

A long investigation report to attract the attention of Konoha's top brass.

Let them understand that this era is constantly changing, and the only outcome that remains unchanged is being eliminated.

It's a pity that although the investigation report finally fell into the hands of the Third Hokage, it was like a mud cow sinking into the sea, and no further news was released after that.

After hearing Tsunade's words, Shikaku shook his head and said:

"No, Hokage-sama, that was not the case at that time. After the Third Generation received your investigation report, it immediately attracted his attention. However, for the sake of your safety at the time, the Third Generation was not at the top of the hierarchy.

It was mentioned in the meeting that even Elder Danzo did not reveal anything about it."

Because Tsunade's investigation report and the desired reforms will touch the interests of many groups within Konoha.

Although it is just a suggestion that cannot be put into practice right away, as long as Tsunade plants this seed for everyone, those groups that stick together for warmth will inevitably feel resistance to Tsunade.

The root may even use this incident to criticize Tsunade and completely ruin her political career.

Considering these factors, the Third Hokage concealed all this. Except for him, the Jonin squad leader, he did not mention it to anyone.

"is that so?"

Tsunade fell into thinking.

Then I realized that my thoughts at that time were somewhat lacking in consideration.

If her teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi had directly mentioned this matter at a high-level meeting, she would probably have no chance of becoming the Hokage today. Even the village would be filled with all kinds of unfavorable rumors against her. In this way, things would have

It will undoubtedly lead to a bad situation.

"Yes, the Third Generation has always been very cautious in dealing with the Kingdom of Ghosts. Although the Third Generation was unable to respond to all the expectations of the Hokage at that time, he still began to try to exert his influence in some areas with weak influence, and vigorously externalized

Recruit technical talents and improve Konoha’s industrial system.”

In Shikaku's opinion, this is probably the limit that the Third Hokage can achieve.

There are fundamental threats within, the checks and balances of the Ninja clan, and hostile forces like the Demon Country outside. If Tsunade's strategy was implemented at that time, Konoha would directly explode from the inside. Whether it can support Tsunade's return is still a question, and there is a high probability.

It's a tragic end with no body intact.

"Sarutobi-sensei is really in a difficult situation."

After listening to Shikaku's narration, Tsunade sighed.

It was difficult for her to understand in the past, but now that she has taken the position of Hokage, she can indeed feel the same way about some of the teacher's 'hesitations' in the past.

However, she did not intend to use this excuse to paralyze herself and make her situation more relaxed.

"Although I sometimes dislike some of the actions of the Third Generation, I have to say that he did use his own abilities to balance the interests of all parties within the village as much as possible."

In recent years, the only particularly big stain is that the handling of the Uchiha clan incident was too weak, which allowed the root to take advantage of the loopholes.

Since then, many ninjas have begun to feel insecure. Because the higher-ups have broken the bottom line of what the ninjas can tolerate. In order to protect themselves, some of these ninjas have begun to hold together for warmth, and some have begun to infiltrate various departments in the village... No matter

No matter what, they all express the same meaning, that is, if the senior officials want to attack them like they did to the Uchiha clan, they must also weigh the consequences of doing so.

In the face of such a life and death situation, no ninja clan can sit still. Even the Hyuga clan, which is usually honest and responsible, has started to take small actions of its own. One can imagine the psychological shadow that the Uchiha clan's annihilation has given them.

Compared with the faults in dealing with the Uchiha clan incident, the other faults of the Third Hokage are not worth mentioning at all.

"Is it balanced? This is Sarutobi-sensei's approach, but I don't want to continue to implement such a strategy during my tenure. Today's Konoha needs to inject new things. Shikaku, you should understand."

Understanding is understanding, but Tsunade does not intend to imitate her teacher's balancing strategy and make a smooth and helpless balancing hand based on the old one.

"I can probably see what Hokage-sama's ambition is."

Shikaku didn't lie.

When Tsunade returned to the village, the first thing he did was announce to the senior advisors that he wanted to strengthen the power of the ANBU and expand its power. He had predicted this outcome.

And he also happened to discover that in the Anbu of Tsunade's organization, most of the new members were jounin or chuunin who had an innocent background, believed in the will of fire, and happened not to be deeply involved with the ninja clan.

Although some of these new members are slightly less capable, when Tsunade opened Konoha's ninjutsu library to them and secretly used her private treasury to tilt some resources towards them, the abilities of these people were greatly improved.

It's only a matter of time before we catch up.

Then, with lightning speed, he intervened in the medical department, promoted Asami Masumi, a former student, and installed his follower Shizune to infiltrate the middle and lower levels of Konoha Hospital... Today's medical department, at least

Half of the power is under Tsunade's control. Moreover, the degree of penetration into the medical department is still being rapidly acted upon.

Anbu, medical department, popular reputation, old subordinates, old friends of the Senju clan, grandfather's legacy... Even Shikaku had to lament that Tsunade's series of operations seemed unintentional, but every move

They all walked very calmly, and used their own advantages to the extreme, so fast that the others could not react, and allowed such a huge force to be gathered under their command.

Well, it's all such a coincidence.

This made Shikaku deeply realize that compared to the original Minato, Tsunade's power was too powerful.

And before he became Hokage, he had a very complete plan in advance. He did not do things with passion and drive, but also fully utilized his own advantages.

With this kind of judgment, action, and decisiveness, even Orochimaru, one of the three ninjas who once ran away from Konoha, may not be better than Tsunade.

Even Tsunade has been away from home these years and has formed a relationship with many businessmen. These businessmen from all over the world may sometimes be regarded as an invisible force behind Tsunade and become a big help to Tsunade.

Shikaku doesn't know what a person with both internal and external influence will do next once he becomes the Hokage.

But he knew that Tsunade was not willing to be lonely and wanted to do something different from the previous Hokages.

At least it is impossible to become a balance hand like the Third Hokage.

Her existence is to break the balance and rebuild the balance she desires in her heart.

"I knew this kind of thing couldn't be hidden from your eyes."

Tsunade looked at Shikaku with admiration.

"When you have a certain level of information, it is not difficult to understand these things. If I guess correctly, what you are going to do has some similarities with the second-generation adults."

"How can I see it?"

"The trend of the Akimichi clan has changed recently. I think the reclusive senior Akimichi Tifeng has quietly stood by your side."

"I kind of understand why Minato and Sarutobi-sensei both have more trust in you. You know, there are some things that not every Jonin squad leader can know."

After hearing this, Tsunade smiled and sighed, completely impressed by Shikaku.

"It's just a coincidence. I have visited Senior Akimichi Torifu in the past. He is a student of the Nidaime-sama. I learned a lot about the Nidaime-sama from him... It is not that easy to gain his support.

matter."

At least according to Shikaku's observation, the Third Hokage never received the support of Akimichi Tofu during his tenure.

Maybe they are comrades-in-arms and can tide over difficulties together when facing danger, but when it comes to decision-making in the village, they have never been comrades-in-arms in a group, and can even be said to be political enemies.

During the Second Hokage's tenure, the various strategies implemented had only one core purpose, which was to weaken the ninja clan, elevate the common people, and finally centralize power in the Hokage to control all the light and darkness of the village until the bad atmosphere left over from the Warring States Period was completely destroyed.

.

Even for such an impossible system template, someone has now given the answer. That is the Kingdom of Ghosts.

And the answer he gave was more extreme and more centralized than the Second Hokage. The Second Hokage only weakened the country, but the Demon Country dug up the foundation of the ninja clan and prepared to dig up the ancestral graves of the great nobles.

In Shikaku's view, even Konoha under the rule of the Second Hokage looked like a harmless sheep compared to today's Demon Country.

One thing Shikaku is always aware of is that among all the countries and ninja villages today, none can surpass the Demon Country in terms of organizational and mobilization capabilities!

"So, are you Nara Shikaku, or are you Shikaku of the Nara clan?"

At this moment, Tsunade decided to meet Shikaku frankly.
To be continued...